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The 2011 Rugby World Cup will be the seventh time that the Rugby World Cup (RWC) has been held. At a meeting of the International Rugby Board (IRB) held in Dublin on 17 November 2005, New Zealand was selected as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa.
There were two rounds of voting by the IRB Council, with South Africa eliminated in the first round.
The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRU) are planning to hold the tournament from September 24 to November 5. The IRB will have the make a final decision on the exact timing during a meeting November 2006. There will be 48 matches, and the potential for 12 different venues. The final will be played at Eden Park in Auckland which will have a crowd capacity of over 60,000. The event will cost about Zealand dollar|$NZ" target="_blank" >*152.05 million to run. It will be the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 America's Cup.
Stadiums
The stadiums that will host games will be announced in late 2006. The NZRU have yet to confirm the location of any matches, but have said it would be likely that an upgraded Eden Park and Jade Stadium will host the knockout matches with Eden Park hosting the final, matches would also be played at the other test venues in the country. Stadiums almost certain to receive games:
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Eden Park | 60,000 |
| Christchurch | Jade Stadium | 55,000 |
| Wellington | Westpac Stadium | 35,000 |
| Dunedin | Carisbrook | 35,000 |
| Hamilton | Waikato Stadium | 30,000 |
Possible venues to receive games:
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Rotorua | Rotorua International Stadium | 35,000 |
| Auckland | Ericsson Stadium | 30,000 |
| Albany | North Harbour Stadium | 25,000 |
| New Plymouth | Yarrow Stadium | 25,000 |
| Tauranga | BlueChip Stadium | 20,000 |
| Invercargill | Rugby Park | 17,000 |
| Napier | McLean Park | 16,000 |
| Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | 15,000 |
However many of the other smaller stadiums, such as the Lansdown Park, in Blenheim, and Trafalgar Park in Nelson are undergoing severe revamps.
Bids
New Zealand co-hosted with Australia, the highly successful first Rugby Union World Cup in 1987. However, its lack of accommodation and sporting stadiums were speculated as impediments to their chances. Originally set to co-host the 2003 tournament with Australia, New Zealand lost the privilege due to a disagreement over ground signage rights. Prior to the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand critics doubted that New Zealand had the infrastructure to host an event of this size. The New Zealand bid contained plans to enlarge the size of Eden Park to help increase the commercial viability of the bid. The Lions tour was held successfully in New Zealand, without doubt. The NZRU and New Zealand are working towards hosting a memorable World Cup.
Of the three, Japan was widely expected to win hosting rights. It was believed to be the desire of the International Rugby Board (IRB) to move the tournament from the hands of the traditional rugby nations such as New Zealand and South Africa. If it were to have been held in Japan it would be the first time a Rugby World Cup took place in Asia. With stadiums existing from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, it had the necessary infrastructure already in place. The Japanese bid also had the support of World Cup winning players (Martin Johnson, Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain, and John Kirwan) and coaches (Eddie Jones, Rob Andrew).
However, the Japan Rugby Football Union had never hosted a major rugby tournament before. As well as that, support for rugby in Japan was considered relatively poor, with many foreign players based in Japan commenting on the Top League's low crowd numbers. The biggest factor in preventing Japan winning the bid was believed to be it leaving important bid details until its final presentation in Dublin. Many delegates had been instructed who to vote for prior to the final bid presentations.
The South African bid, led by former national captain Francois Pienaar, had strong support from their government. It successfully hosted the tournament in 1995. There was belief throughout the rugby community that the organisation of the Rugby World Cup would be overshadowed by the organisation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
After an IRB inspection of each applicant host nation during June/July 2005, the winning bid of New Zealand was announced during the IRB Council meeting in Dublin on November 17, 2005.
The ballot was secret, but by process of elimination and prior announcements, the voting has been deduced. It is thought the final ballot was 13–8 in favour of New Zealand.
- For New Zealand (in parentheses is number of votes available to the Union)
- For Japan
References
External links
- Official home page of the Japan bid
- Official home page of the South Africa bid
- NZRFU's announcement of their bid for RWC2011
- Helpful website in planning your 2011 Rugby World Cup holiday to New Zealand
"2011 Rugby World Cup"